Divine Vengeance
by Illyandria V
Summary: Klariste, Sorceress of Darkness has escaped from her crystal prison and has a score to settle with old enemies...and lovers. Can the Warrior Princess team up with the Olympians to stop her evil plans?


Title: Divine Vengeance  
  
Author: Illyandria Salara Valassiah  
  
Disclaimer: Xena, Gabrielle, Ares, etc are property of MCA, Universal, and Renaissance Pictures. The gods unmentioned in the series are from Greek mythology. Klariste, Renae, Mikhael, and Stephen belong to me.  
  
Violence/Sex/Profanity: Yes, no, and yes.  
  
Subtext: No. This would be a Xena/Ares site. I didn't even see subtext between Xena and Gabrielle before I got online, so why would I write about it?  
  
Author's Note: Takes place after "Chakram".  
  
Feedback: Send all comments and criticism to renae@dragonseek.com.   
  
Dedications:   
Raven Darkspell, my best friend.  
Lasca, the best fan fiction writer in the world.  
Delenn, who is finally back online.  
Sara, who's busy but still has time to read my fan fiction :)  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
  
  
"He loves me."  
  
The silence suddenly broken, Xena looked over at her friend, attempting a half smile. "Yeah, Gabrielle, I know."  
  
The bard pursed her lips, glancing up towards the sky. The sun shone down hotly, causing a small film of perspiration to form on her brow. She glared up at it, her usual optimistic, nature-loving demeanor replaced by annoyance for the confusion wracking her mind. She shifted her penetrating gaze back down to the road and continued out loud.  
  
"It just doesn't make any sense! This is Joxer for goodness sake! How could he be in love with me? This is just - this is just insane!" Receiving no reply, Gabrielle's eyes shot over to the Warrior Princess. "Xena, are you even listening to me?"  
  
No response.  
  
"Xena?!"  
  
"Hmm? Oh yeah, Gabrielle. Sure."  
  
The bard rolled her eyes, but left it at that. The duo trudged on in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.  
  
"I wonder where he went..." Gabrielle finally said. Again, she received no response and asked tiredly, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Gabrielle rose a skeptical eyebrow. "I know you, Xena. Whenever you say nothing, that means there's definitely something."  
  
Xena didn't answer.  
  
"So, what is it?" Gabrielle prompted.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Come on!" the bard persisted. "What on the gods' green earth is bothering you?!"  
  
The warrior sighed, tightening her grip on Argo's reins. Eyes on the road ahead, she spoke softly. "I killed Kal."  
  
Gabrielle studied her face for a moment. "I take it you knew him, then?"  
  
Xena nodded. "Very well. Back when I was a warlord."  
  
When she said nothing more, Gabrielle asked softly, "Do you want to tell me about it?"  
  
The Warrior Princess bit on the inside of her cheek as her hands idly twisted around the leather reins. There was a long pause before she responded. "We were friends. Kal, Ares, and I. Fought in battle together a lot. Ares and Kal never really got along that well, but they were still there for each other. Sort of like Caesar and Pompey -- they more or less hated each other, but they couldn't live without each other. But, I liked them both." Xena grinned bitterly. "I basically held them together when things got rough. I let them beat the shit out of each other, of course, but...well... Anyway, after Ares stole the dark chakram and gave it to me, Kal was furious. He got over it, but things we never like they used to be. Ares and Kal were even more wary of each other. And then, I left. I'm not sure what happened afterwards...except that I killed him. The same man - god I used to fight beside."  
  
Gabrielle let all of this sink in. Quickening her pace, she stepped ahead of Xena and turned to look at her. "It wasn't your fault," she said, grabbing the warrior's upper arm to stop her. Xena said nothing, so she continued. "You didn't remember him, Xena. You saw him ready to kill me, and you did the only thing you could."  
  
"But I didn't kill Ares! The gods know he deserves it more than Kal did!"  
  
"Ares got on your good side when you didn't know who he was. Kal captured you, Ares didn't. It wasn't your fault."  
  
Xena offered her a small smile. "Thanks." She cleared her throat, ready to change the subject. "So, how do you feel about lover boy?"  
  
"Joxer?" Gabrielle shrugged. "I really don't know. It just...came as a shock, I guess. We've known him for almost four years, and...all this time he was in love with me."  
  
Her friend grinned. "Yeah, I know. You must have been pretty blind not to have seen that!"  
  
Gabrielle elbowed her good naturedly. "As if you're good when it comes to men!" When Xena gave her an incredulous look, Gabrielle corrected herself. "Men and their feelings, that is!"  
  
Xena shrugged. "Give me one example."  
  
"You never knew Autolycus was in love with you!"  
  
The Warrior Princess laughed. "Autolycus isn't in love with me! Pure lust, my dear bard."  
  
Gabrielle shook her head. "He loves you."  
  
Xena too shook her head and said, "We've changed the subject. How do you feel about Joxer?"  
  
"You're the one who changed the subject!"  
  
"See, there you go again!"  
  
Gabrielle threw her head back in mock-exasperation. "Alright, alright. To answer your question, I *truthfully* have no idea how I feel about him. It feels like - like he's a stranger. After all of the time I've spent with him - it feels like I don't know him."  
  
Xena nodded her head in agreement. "Well, maybe you should get to know him again then?"  
  
The bard bit her bottom lip. "I don't even know where he ran off to now. After the showdown in the temple, he just left." Gabrielle paused and then looked over at Xena, a smile on her lips. "I can't believe he told me in the middle of a fight! Can you believe that?"  
  
Xena chuckled. "Good ole Joxer. But underneath everything that you see right now, I know there's a great guy...who's been in love with you since he met you."  
  
Gabrielle groaned. "Stop reminding me. Trying to clear my head of everything so I can think!" They lapsed back into a more content silence than before. Gabrielle's thoughts drifted back to the temple and everything that had happened. "Ares took that defeat rather well, considering," she mused aloud.  
  
The warrior pursed her lips. "Yeah, well..."  
  
"I mean, think of what that chakram could have given him. Total control on Olympus. And all he said when you neutralized it was 'kay'." Shaking her head, Gabrielle added, "Sometimes he's just too screwed up for words."  
  
Xena nodded absently.  
  
"I wonder when he's planning on catching you 'around the Acropolis'. That just means later, right? It's not some sex term you guys made up?" Gabrielle grinned wickedly.  
  
This time the Warrior Princess groaned. "Gabrielle..."  
  
The bard held up her hands in surrender. "Sorry! Only joking. Besides, the thought of you and him is just...ew..." She wrinkled her nose.  
  
"Yeah, back then it took me awhile to get used to it too!"  
  
~*~  
  
The hair on her arms rose as the wind brought a chill across her skin. Renae pulled her shawl around herself tighter, and continued walking. The soft sound of trickling water that had followed her since she left home now began to fade as the dry leaves crunched beneath her bare feet and she trekked farther into the forest. Her eyes glanced over the tall trees that surrounded her, their presence seeming to mock her, telling her that she was just another nameless person in the tapestry of time. She closed her eyes for a moment, wrapping her arms around herself, as she remembered her father's words from earlier this morning...  
  
_"If Lord Tarul wishes to marry you, then marry you he shall! This is your chance to be somebody, Renae. You will marry him in five days' time."  
  
"But Father, I wish to marry for love, not for money!"  
  
"I will not have my last daughter be nothing but another village girl! You are to marry Lord Tarul. End of discussion."_  
  
As those words echoed through her head, her foot slipped.  
  
"Ooomf!" She laid upon the muddy ground for a moment, trying to catch her breath again. "This is all your fault, Father," she murmured as she picked herself back up, attempting to wipe the dirt from her dress. It refused to brush off, and she began to scrub at it vigorously with her hand. Letting out a loud, exasperated breath, she gave up. She began to walk along again, but as another cold breeze rushed over her, she realized her shawl was missing. She turned around in a circle, eyes searching, until she finally spotted it. Shivering, she made her way over to it, and kneeled down briefly to pick it up. She wrapped it around her shoulders again and stood, finding herself face to face with a giant oak tree. She looked up at the towering branches, and then back down at the trunk, something catching her eye.  
  
There was something etched into the bark, a symbol of some sort. She lifted her hand, fingers extended to trace the image. The moment she touched it, she jerked her hand back, pain lacing her digits. Grimacing, she shook her hand around, trying to rid herself of the burning heat. She looked back up at the tree trunk, and her green eyes grew wide. The symbol glowed red.  
  
She took a startled step back, and then turned around and ran. She only made it a few steps before she stumbled again, and landed face first in a pile of leaves.   
  
Renae looked back at the tree, heart beating wildly, but the red glow had vanished. She put a hand to her heart and took a deep breath. She began to stand up again when she saw what had tripped her. A piece of metal was sticking up out of the ground a few inches away from her. Curious as to what the object was, she tried to pull it from the ground. The object didn't budge. Seeing that most of it must be buried beneath the soil, she began digging up the dirt with her hands.  
  
A few minutes later, a book sat next to her on the ground. Its front and back covers were made of rusted metal, and a clasp that had once kept unwanted eyes from viewing the pages now hung uselessly.  
  
Renae opened the book to the first page, and was surprised to find that most of the flowing script was not faded.  
  
"Klariste, Sorceress of Darkness," she read aloud. Her interest piqued, she continued on...  
  
~*~  
  
_In the beginning there was Chaos. From it was born Darkness, Earth, and Night. These and their offspring were the Titans. And from the Titans came the Gods.   
  
The Gods were greedy creatures. They wanted control of all that there was, and challenged their life-givers to a war that shook all of creation, the greatest war this world has ever seen. For thousands upon thousands of years the Gods and the Titans were evenly matched, until one day a new being came into existence. She was Klariste, Daughter of Chaos, Sister of Night, and therefore sworn enemy of all Gods.  
  
She was a Sorceress, her magick powerful and unheard of to the Gods and Titans alike. Her abilities would give the Titans an easy victory, and the Gods would be no more. Klariste had the knowledge to create an enchanted metal, stronger than that of Hephaestus. It would have the power to kill Gods and Titans alike.  
  
But Hekate, Goddess of the Underworld, imprisoned her soul before she could complete this metal's creation. Her spirit was trapped inside a jewel of blood red color, a jewel which was entrusted by Zeus to Hekate for her to guard for the rest of time. Because of the loss of Klariste, the Gods prevailed over the Titans, sending them into the depths of Tartarus to never been seen again.   
  
When Klariste was taken from her place beside her kin, books of her spells in the ancient tongue fell to the earth where the first generation of mortals roamed the land. They read of her knowledge, and began worshipping her spirit, forgetting about the Gods that ruled them. This angered Zeus, and in a fit of rage the King of the Gods threw lightening bolts from the sky, striking dead the unloyal mortals where they stood. Their books were destroyed, the Olympians hating everything that the Daughter of Chaos held dear. Some of the books, however, were lost in the confusion, and the second generation of mortals found them. In secret, they studied the ways of the Sorceress, loyal to her and not to the greedy Olympians.   
  
I am the last of my generation. I have no daughters, no sons, to carry on my tradition. I leave this book here in the hopes that someone will find it and realize that Klariste, Sorceress of Darkness and her ways are divine, and the only way to bring an end to the rule of the soulless Gods.   
  
We are so close to bringing the Sorceress back to our world. The spell on the next page, written in the blood of my life-taking wound, when spoken for the thousandth time, will bring back the Daughter of Chaos. Speak it with your heart, for it is the only way..._  
  
~*~  
  
The rest of the words were smeared and Renae was unable to read them.  
_  
What an intriguing story..._ Renae thought, and turned to the next page. As the woman had said, there was indeed a spell on the next page, written in lifeblood that had long ago turned brown.   
  
_The Daughter of Chaos. This writer acts as if she brings redemption...but what is worse? The rule of the Gods, or the rule of Chaos?_ She shook her head. _It's not as if it matters anyway...this is only a myth, for no one has ever heard of this...this Klariste._  
  
Renae skimmed down the spell. _Written in an ancient tongue...what beautiful words..._ They flowed upon the old parchment, their syllables promising to roll off the speakers' tongue with ease. Her worries suddenly forgotten, the words began to tumble from her lips as she whispered them aloud, an unknown force compelling her to do so.  
  
~*~  
  
Beyond a locked iron door, the blood red gem in which the Sorceress' spirit was trapped began to pulse. Light flashed inside of it, turning it from crimson, to bright red, and back again. A moment later, the jewel shattered, sending sharp shards all over the white marble floor.  
  
~*~  
  
As she finished the last phrase, Renae rose her head and looked about her. A red mist began to swirl around her, little tendrils winding themselves around her small body. She gasped, and tried to push it away. The mist seemed to obey and gathered in front of her. A flash of white light blinded Renae momentarily, and when it subsided, a woman stood before her.  
  
Her long red hair fell to her waist and was groomed to perfection, glowing in the dim light from the overcast sky. A green dress that could have only been made for a royal woman clung to her slim figure, resting on the floor. Long sleeves covered her arms, all the way down to her palm and slender fingers, whose fingernails were covered in maroon. Her lips too were maroon in color, and at the moment forming a small smile as her catlike emerald eyes looked down upon the young girl before her.  
  
Renae looked her up and down, stunned, before she promptly fainted and fell to the leave covered ground.  
  
Klariste rose one beautiful eyebrow as she watched the girl do this, and then turned away, unconcerned. She tilted her head back, looking heavenwards, until she finally sighed. Her voice cutting through the cold autumn air, she said with triumph, "I'm back."  
  
~*~  
  
The temple was decorated in all shades of pink, a color that could only be tolerated by one goddess. Vases imported from all over Greece sat atop pedestals, and tapestries hung on the walls, depicting the most memorable love stories of time. Priests, muscular and barely clothed, and priestesses, the most beautiful women of the city, walked around, making sure that everything was as it should be.   
  
Two men, sweat glistening off their bronze abs, were attempting to place a new statue of the temple's goddess behind the altar. Aphrodite watched them, admiring at the same time her statue and the men who were lifting it.   
  
It totally looks like me! Dude, my hair looks bitchin' too! A small frown formed on her face as the men almost dropped the golden statue. Don't you even, guys! I swear, you drop my statue and I will have to...punish...you... She smiled evilly.  
  
The temple doors flew open and she whirled around to see a man pointing outside. "Look! The gods are furious today! We have upset our goddess! Look!"  
  
Aphrodite's eyes grew wide as the men fumbled with the statue for a moment, and then she breathed a sigh of relief as it was placed safely onto the ground. Just a moment later a group of priestesses rushed past her and to the door, passing the statue. The goddess watched as the golden likeness of herself teetered, and then fell with a crash.   
  
She screeched, rushing over to the statue and kneeling down before it. She tried pitifully to upright it until she finally wailed, "Oh you guys! Get back her!" But she found herself in an empty temple. Aphrodite pouted, stood with hands on her hips, and stomped to the door. "Guys! What's the big --" Her eyes suddenly grew wide as she followed the gaze of the others. "Man!" she finally said. "Somebody has a major taste prob!"  
  
The Grecian sky had turned blood red.  
  
~*~  
  
The King of the Gods sat upon his throne, listening to his daughter's latest rant.  
  
"Father, really. This can't go on. He must be stopped. His forces marched upon one of my beautiful cities and burned my temple to the ground! His men raped my priestesses and killed half of the town's men. He should not be allowed to get away with this; you must do something!"  
  
Zeus sighed. "Dearest, I have been punishing him for years. Nothing I do seems to stop him anymore. If you wish him to stop these acts, then meet his army on the battlefield. You are the goddess of warfare as well as arts."  
  
"But Father --"  
  
"Yo, Daddio!" A flash of pink light filled the room as Aphrodite appeared. "Wassup with the weird sky, Pops? I mean, hey, I have bad days, but really! Red? It's just majorly clashin' with everything else!"  
  
"What *are* you talking about, Aphrodite?" her sister asked impatiently.  
  
"Like, 'Thena, don't even start with the mightier-than-everybody-else tone! Go look outside if you dunno what I'm talkin' 'bout."  
  
Athena cocked her head to the side and made her way towards a window. She whirled back around a moment later and looked at Zeus. "What's going on?"  
  
Her farther looked at them both quizzically, and rose from his throne. He walked towards the window as well and looked outside. When he turned back around, his face had visibly paled. "There's something wrong. Hermes!"  
  
The Messenger of the Gods appeared in a flash. "What up? Who's the guy, what's 'da message, where'm I goin'?"  
  
"Go to all of the gods. Tell them there's an emergency meeting at Olympus."  
  
~*~  
  
"Isn't it a beautiful day, Xena?" Gabrielle asked, taking her sais out of her boots. "The birds are singing, the sun is shining --"  
  
"The seventh band of thugs today are about to take us on in a fight," Xena chimed in.  
  
Gabrielle grinned. "Seventh? Hey, we're doing pretty good!"  
  
Xena looked around at the men surrounding them. "Now, come on guys, don't be shy! Step right up!"  
  
One of the men began to charge at her, but stopped in mid-stride. He stared upwards, fear in his eyes. The others were doing the same, and a moment later they were running off.  
  
The bard looked over at her best friend, raising one eyebrow. "I know we can be intimidating sometimes, but..." She trailed off as her gaze followed Xena's finger. "Let's review... Grass is green. Sun is yellow. Sky is...?"  
  
"Red."  
  
"Oh, good, it's not just me."  
  
Xena looked around the clearing they were in, and then looked back up at the sky. "Gabrielle, warlords don't make the sky red, do they?"  
  
"No, can't say I've ever heard of them doing that..."  
  
"Monsters?"  
  
"Uh, don't think so..."  
  
"The gods?"  
  
Gabrielle looked over at her friend and grinned humorously. "Ares probably started the Apocalypse."  
  
"I wouldn't put it past him. Ares?" she called out.  
  
Blue light flashed as the God of War appeared, arms crossed over his chest. He gave her a half smile. "Yes, Xena?"  
  
"Tell me you didn't start the Apocalypse."  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't start the Apocalypse."  
  
"Then why's the sky red?" Gabrielle asked.  
  
Ares shrugged. "Dunno. Haven't heard --" His sentence, however, was interrupted by the appearance of Hermes.  
  
"Yo!" the messenger said, unrolling the scroll in his hands. "Da big guy on 'Lympus is callin' a meeting, yadda yadda yadda, all gods must attend, excetera, excetera, excetera!" He said, and then quickly rolled the parchment back up. "Hey babe!" he said when the Warrior Princess caught his eye. "How's it hangin'. You and Ar' all down and dirty again?"  
  
Xena suppressed a groan. "Hermes..."  
  
"'Cuz, ya know, if you aren't, and ya need a man or somethin', I'm your guy!"  
  
"Hermes, I'm sure you have plenty more people to deliver messages to. Better get to it," Xena said, waving him off.  
  
"Okay, baby, maybe later, eh?" Hermes winked at her and disappeared in a flash of gold.  
  
The female warrior sighed deeply, looking back over at Ares again as he began to speak.  
  
"Sounds important, princess. Wanna come along? I'm sure daddy dearest wouldn't mind. It'll cost you though..." He cocked his head to the side and gave her a mischievous grin.  
  
Xena stepped closer to him, an smile playing at her lips. "I could always tell 'daddy dearest' that a certain beloved son of his had planned to kill him not even a month ago," she said, looking at him levelly.  
  
The God of War stepped back, shrugged, and grinned. "Alright then. This time it's on the house."  
  
~*~  
  
Hekate's shoes clacked against the marble floor as she walked through the hall of her palace. The walls shimmered with ever changing blues, greens, and purples and she gazed at them, still, after all these years, delighted with her creation. As she stepped into her carpeted study, the building fell silent. She made her way across the room, over to where a her newest potion was sitting unfinished. It bubbled and fizzed, almost pouring over the top of its container. The goddess bit her bottom lip in thought and scanned the page of her golden book, looking for where she left off. Finding her place, she read quickly, and then turned around to find the next ingredient.   
  
"Hello Hekate."  
  
The woman's sudden presence made Hekate jump back in surprise, and Klariste used that moment to her advantage. Murmuring some words in her native language, she raised her hand and a ball of green light appeared in her palm. She hurled it at the goddess, causing her to fall to the floor, unconscious.   
  
Klariste glanced around the room. Finding what she was looking for, she snatched a pair of manacles from the wall and bound the dark goddess in them. Once finished, she kneeled down, gently placing a stray lock of the goddess's hair behind her ear.   
  
"That really was too easy, dear," Klariste said, shaking her head. "You must learn to put up more of a fight than that."  
  
~*~  
  
In a dark corner of the room, a young man stood on a ladder, a dirty rag in his hands with which he attempted to clean the shelves. No matter how many times he cleaned the shop, the dust always seemed to come back within the next day.   
  
As he wiped his rag across the wooden surface, he strained his ears. Faintly, he could hear voices from the other room.  
  
"She's been gone since this morning, Nikolaus!"  
  
"Sarah, I'll go out to look for her the moment I can close the shop up. Until then, try to calm yourself."  
  
"I won't calm myself!"  
  
The voices continued, but Mikhael wasn't listening any longer. Worry creased his brow and he threw the cloth aside, jumping down from the ladder and landing soundlessly on the floor. He walked past the wooden barrels of wine and crates of foods until he reached the doorway. The two figures were still speaking, and he quietly approached them.  
  
They both saw him, and the woman fell silent. Nikolaus turned to face him. "Yes Mikhael?"  
  
The boy swallowed. "I can go search for your daughter if you'd like, sir."  
  
Nikolaus nodded. "Have you finished cleaning the back room?"  
  
"No, sir, I haven't, but as soon as I bring the lady back I will be sure to finish it."  
  
"Alright then. You may look for her, but be sure to be back in time to finish cleaning before it's time to close shop."  
  
~*~  
  
In the depths of oblivion is where the palace lay, suspended between nothingness above and below it. There was no sky, no ground, no anything. Only the gigantic castle condemned to float forever in the darkness. The ancient dull gray stones betrayed the beauty of the structure's interior. Inside, the walls were covered in royal colors, and riches were at every turn. Yet, they did not succeed in pleasing the castle's owner.  
  
Klariste's eyes ran over the words of the book. She had gone back to the forest after chaining Hekate in the dungeon to retrieve the book from which the girl spoke the words to bring her back. Now, she was reading what the writer had said of the history of the gods and the titans.   
  
The sorceress shook her head. No one knew the full story. All that had were murdered by her hand. She wanted none to know what had taken place.  
  
Her heart was bitter and numb ever since fate had decided to strike down the only person she'd ever...  
  
She grimaced, and hurried to rid her mind of those thoughts. No! I will not let myself drown in pity. Never again.  
  
But he never even knew...  
  
Klariste screamed out in frustration, throwing her head into her hands. She felt wetness in her eyes, and she held it back, furious.   
  
I won't let the tears come again.  
  
She took in a deep breath. "I'll have my revenge," she whispered, staring down at the words of the story. A moment later they were consumed in flame. Her eyes reflected the dancing light as she stared down at it, entranced.  
  
~*~  
  
The other gods had already arrived when Ares, Xena, and Gabrielle appeared in the throne room of Mount Olympus. As the God of War lead the duo over to his throne, Zeus stood and addressed him.  
  
"Ares, you know mortals are not allowed on Olympus. Remove them immediately!"  
  
Ares waved his hand and two chairs materialized next to his throne. He motioned for Xena and Gabrielle to sit down, and then he himself took a seat, lazily reclining and swinging one leg over the side of the chair. He finally looked over at his father and said, "As far as I'm concerned, that rule has never applied to Xena. And the bard is necessary because my princess doesn't seem to go anywhere without her."  
  
The King of the Gods was about to pursue the matter further, but thought better of it and instead looked to his favorite daughter. "Athena?"  
  
The red-haired goddess rose, her posture demanding respect and voice ringing clearly through the marble halls. "We have been called here today because of the sudden unnatural change in the sky's color. Has anyone any idea why this has happened?"  
  
Each of the gods looked at one another and shrugged. When nobody spoke, Athena continued. "We have no choice but to call upon the Fates for guidance." She tilted her face heavenwards and said loudly, "I summon forth the Fates. Appear, ancient ones, and tell us what the future holds."  
  
A blinding white light flashed through the room as the Fates appeared. From youngest to eldest they were Clotho, the spinner, Lachesis, the apportioner, and Atropos, the inevitable.  
  
"Why hast thou..."  
  
"...summoned us..."  
  
"...goddess Athena?"  
  
The Goddess of Wisdom bowed her head slightly, and replied, "We wish to ask you why the Grecian sky has turned red."  
  
"Darkness..."  
  
"...has returned..."  
  
"...to our world."  
  
Athena arched an eyebrow. "What darkness? Can you be more specific?"  
  
"The sorceress..."  
  
"...has been..."  
  
"...set free."  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Xena saw Ares stiffen. "Klariste?" he questioned.  
  
"Daughter of Chaos..."  
  
"...Sister of Night..."  
  
"...and nemesis of your race."  
  
"Alliances..."  
  
"...must be made..."  
  
"...for you to survive."  
  
"Only through trust..."  
  
"...and sacrifice..."  
  
"...will you be victorious."  
  
Athena opened her mouth to speak again, but before she had a chance the ancient ones disappeared, leaving only one whispered word to echo through the halls, "Alliances...alliances...alliances..."  
  
~*~  
  
  
Darkness washed over every corner of the chamber. When Hekate opened her eyes she could see nothing. A hard tug confirmed that her hands were bound above her head by manacles forged by either Hephaestus or the Sorceress herself.  
  
Hekate closed her eyes, finding the darkness rather disconcerting. She tried to shift around, the cold stone wall digging into her aching back. Finding no comfortable position to stay in, she sighed heavily and slumped back.  
  
After only a few minutes, the silence became deafening. Her ears felt as if they were ringing, but she could not understand why.  
  
She had little time to ponder that, for a moment later a clang sounded from outside. An iron door opened from no where, and Klariste stepped inside, torch in hand. She closed the door behind herself, and walked to stand in front of the chained goddess.  
  
Hekate held her gaze. When her captor said nothing, she could stand the silence no longer and asked, "What do you want?"  
  
"You already know." The firelight caught the Sorceress's eyes, and Hekate was sure of what she spoke.  
  
"No." Her tone was clear and forceful.  
  
Klariste closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. "Give it to me, Hekate. It is mine by right, and I want it."  
  
"You can't have it. Besides, world domination would not suit you."  
  
"It's not the world I want, dear. Now give it to me."  
  
"No."  
  
The Sorceress's blood red lips formed into a sad smile. Walking forward, she said quietly, "I'm sure you'll be willing to give it up once I'm finished."   
  
Her fist connected with Hekate's jaw.  
  
~*~  
"Find Hekate." The command was directed to Hermes by the goddess in the middle of the room. "We'll need her if we're going to beat Klariste again."  
  
"Alridy then, be right back." Hermes left in a flash of gold.  
  
Xena turned to Ares. "Who's Klariste? I've never heard of her."  
  
The God of War looked over at her grimly. "She was loyal to the Titans and almost led them to victory. Hekate was able to capture her soul in a ruby before she could finish."  
  
She studied his features as he tried to keep them composed. "Worthy adversary?"  
  
He nodded. "She - "  
  
Hermes appeared again, looking nervous. "Guys, you know what they say about not killing the messenger? Well, now's the time to put that into action."  
  
Athena stared at him. "Where's Hekate?"  
  
The messenger shrugged. "Not here. Not in the Underworld, not in the Mortal Plane, not in the Aether. She's nowhere, Athena."  
  
Ares cursed. "Damn Klariste. We're no match for her without Hekate, and she knows it."  
  
Athena sighed soundly. "Keep looking, Hermes. Maybe you just missed her."  
  
The god rolled his eyes, but disappeared once again.  
  
Ares glared over at his sister. "Klariste has her. She's already one step ahead of all of us. Any bright ideas on what we're going to do without Hekate, hmm?"  
  
"Actually, brother, I do. We're going to go to Hekate's palace to find the spell."  
  
"What spell?" Xena asked.  
  
Athena looked over at her with a pompous superiority. "The spell with which Hekate imprisoned Klariste in the crystal," she said slowly, as if explaining to a child. She suddenly dived to the side as a bolt of energy came hurtling at her. As she stood again, she threw her own bolt of energy over towards her brother, but he merely caught it in his palm with a grin.  
  
"You're too predictable. And I suggest you never do that again, if you know what's best for you."  
  
"Do what again?" she asked, hands upon her hips. "Insult your girlfriend or try to knock you on your leather clad ass?"  
  
"Just being a bitch in general. Could get you hurt." Ares suddenly looked around and put on a smile. "So, are we all going to the palace then?"  
  
~*~  
  
To Be Continued....  
  
  
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